How To Become An Architect?

 

If you are considering architecture as your career path, this blog will help you understand what you need to know and the necessary preparations so that you will be more confident that architecture is for you.

1. What are the qualities you possess to become an architect?
    There are 4 simple questions you need to ask yourself if you would qualify to become an architect.:

 a. First, can you draw well? 
     Concepts are done through your drawing skill, the medium by which you convey your ideas. 

This is what we call "sketching". 
Sketching may not be that good, this is a means by which you would like to express your thoughts and ideas. The more you learn to sketch, the better you can visualize your design and it may become an artwork.
Some architects are outstanding in their sketching skills, and they spend time conveying their ideas with their own sketches, which works well with them 

Some designers don't have the better skill in sketching, and they work for people who know sketching, they enrich the idea and someone else has to draw it for them, that process has worked well with them too. It is a plus factor while you are stating that you possess a little skill in drawing, but it is not essential because your drawing skill can be developed through the years when you start with the architectural course. It is just the starting point to evaluate yourself if you want to consider architecture.

sketch using SketchUp

Today, sketching skills can already be achieved through the use of computers, so if you are not good at manual sketching, do not be discouraged. If you have a good judgement on beauty, and you are creative in a way, this is what you need to possess to take up architecture which will be the next question you need to ask yourself

b. Are you creative?
Being creative is the ability to work on ordinary things and make them extraordinary. Architecture is a composition of building materials that were put together, thus making a good design. In Architecture, you will be trained to be more creative and rational in what you do. Every line that you draw must always tell a story. That's where your creativity comes in, where you combine vertical and horizontal lines.

Your imagination would lead you to design like this picture on the left.
Each designer is unique, and his design is phenomenal because not all ideas would be the same. Other architects might have different designs as compared to this example.  How are you going to arrange the elements like the door, ceiling, and stairs? Are you good at putting things together?. It is just like building blocks, and you can come up with a good composition using those blocks together with different shapes and colors. Similarly applied to architecture, that's where you can test your creativity. So why not start using things around you and build something out of it? Be creative...



c. How good are you in your communication skills (English)

Good communication skills are a very important quality you need to possess. As you start to draw your line, you must already start telling your story. That's where you should develop your English language because you need to have a reason behind your designs. Let the people know your design intentions, philosophy, concept, and ideas.
That process is what we call the design conceptualization stage, which will be part of your training in architecture. So if you can communicate in English (or maybe in your own native language) you can become an architect.

d. How good are you in Mathematics?

Many students, especially those inclined to arts, are afraid of mathematics. Don't be surprised if mathematics is one of the qualities you need to possess to become an architect because this is necessary. If you know basic addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction, that is a good starting point. Do not complicate it, Architecture is also about solving problems. This deals with simple computations and those are translated into visual line presentation.

Example:

You are designing a restaurant, and you are required to fit 40 people in the dining area, what is the size required?
If you need 2.44 sq. MTS to fit 4 people with tables and chairs, what will be the required size of the dining area to fit 40 people?

Solution:

40 divided by 4            = 10

10 multiplied by 2.44   =  24.4

you will need at least 25 sq. MTS of the dining area, not including the clearances for the people to walk on in between chairs.

That is a simple calculation that I believe is not so complicated for you to be able to know that you are good at math.

There you have it. Do you possess these qualities? Then I think you can become an architect.

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